(Reuters) – British finance minister Rachel Reeves is expected to announce the end of a temporary five pence cut in fuel duty from next year in her budget this month, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people briefed on the chancellor’s views.
Reeves has also been urged by the Treasury department to end a 13-year freeze on fuel duty, FT reported.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “We do not comment on speculation around tax changes outside of fiscal events.”
Duty paid on motor fuels has been frozen since 2011, except for a temporary cut in the 2022/23 tax year, as governments feared a backlash from drivers especially in rural areas.
In the last budget published in March under the previous Conservative government, the latest cancellation of the scheduled fuel duty rise cost around 3 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) in 2024/25.
($1 = 0.7668 pounds)
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper in London; Editing by Sandra Maler)
